[[Hayley Kelly continued from Day 3 and from Going Round in Circles]]
It took a while, but they were finally here now. Home. Well, no, that was complete bullshit, not home, home was that place none of them were going to ever see again except me no optimistic bullshit right now Hayley, not in the mood. But this was the closest thing Hayley had to a home on this island. This is where she'd met up with Maddy, where they'd enjoyed a moment of comfort and safety and where for a little while they could pretend this whole thing was some epic adventure. Like some Final Fantasy shit, sword and spear in hand, they'd go out and kill all the monsters-
Except then there weren't any monsters. Didn't stop Hayley from killing them, though. There was the rub! This place was great and safe and nice when Hayley could pretend she wasn't going to die, no one was going to die, and it was hard to pretend that when people were dead and she had killed several of them herself.
Even if she hadn't, she would've had to stare death right in the face as she entered the groundskeeper's hut.
Ugh. Hayley was assaulted by a smell she could only imagine was the 'stench of death' they talked about in the movies. The body lay on the bed so so much for that good night's sleep she'd so desperately wanted. She didn't recognize the girl but she vaguely remembered that the hut had been a danger zone several days before. Judging from the state of her- her neck blown open and all- Hayley imagined the girl must have slept through the announcements. Tough shit. Good thing I'm a light sleeper, I guess.
But the bigger issue was having a corpse in the hut at all. Her body wasn't all gross and decomposing quite yet, but it damn straight was on its way, with the flies swarming and all. Totally gross. Either they were going to have to vacate or the body was. Hayley didn't particularly like either choice.
But it was getting dark. If they wanted a place to stay the night...
"I'm gonna need your help with this, Kyle."
It wasn't fun work. It was in fact the grossest thing possibly in the universe ever. The girl's head was barely connected her her body, and Hayley had to hold it up on its own to keep it from falling right off. Not that that wouldn't be appropriate, given her apparent affinity for disembodied heads. At any rate, with Kyle's help she moved the body from the groundskeeper's hut outside, resisting to urge to hurl the thing far, far away and instead lowering it carefully on the ground behind the hut. Where she'd hopefully never see it again.
She was loathe to waste yet more of her water, but she spared a bit to wash the blood that had gotten on her away, using Ema's towel to clean herself completely before going back inside.
And then it was normal again. Well, there was still blood and guts on the bed, but hell, they'd just have to sleep on the couch. And on the floor. Which sounded shitty but less shitty than lying in the puddled contents of this girl's jugular, right? Yeah. Viva la optimism! Whatever. At least we're inside. And-
Yep. Her bag. It was still there. Awesome.
Not that she wanted to get dressed quite yet. Why should she? She wasn't about to do anything but go to sleep and she didn't need clothes for that. But then- so much for fucking optimism-even with the bed someone was going to have to sleep on the floor, and given that the bed was definitely not an option and the couch would only fit one...
Part of Hayley was glad the couch only fit one. If it fit two she'd basically be deciding if she wanted to sleep with heh Ema or Kyle and god fucking dammit she did not want to deal with that right now. As it were, the choice was pretty obvious. Kyle being Kyle, he naturally immediately gave up his claim to the bed, and Hayley's pride couldn't take allowing Ema to sleep on the floor. So she and Kyle were on the floor. She kept her distance, for Ema's sake.
Hard wood floor or not, with Ema's towel as a blanket, she fell asleep fairly easily. It was early, sure, but hell if it hadn't been a long fucking day.
---
BZZZZZZZZT.
Hayley hardly jumped. It was like an alarm clock- after a few days you end up waking up five minutes before it goes off. She wasn't exactly wide-eyed and bushy tailed but she was damn well conscious when the announcement began.
"Kids, when I first looked through the dossiers we have on you guys, I was thinking no way no how were a bunch of saps like you going to provide much of a spectacle."
She tried to focus her bleary eyes without resorting to rubbing them and further compromising her makeup situation.
"I'm ever so glad you've all proved me so completely wrong."
And she flipped off the camera with both hands. It was that kind of morning.
She listened to the announcement because obviously she had a choice in the matter. Danya helpfully confirmed for her that Rachel fucking Gettys had been responsible for the untimely demise of Sir Cute and English, and Hayley added her mentally to a shitlist that would be longer if she'd been paying more attention to these announcements. As it were, a few names stuck with her. Clio and Maxwell, in particular. They went in the kill on sight department, or they would if she knew what they looked like. Oh well.
"And the fun goes on. Hayley Kelly, having sharpened her skills yesterday, demonstrated her perfect beheading technique, this time on James Mulzet.
Hayley waved at the camera almost good-naturedly, considering how rude she'd been to it only moments prior. Well, she was a known killer already, no real harm in being called out again, right? Figured she might as well do a service to the viewers at home and point out Hayley Kelly as the pretty one in the black lace lingerie. Actually none of that really occurred to Hayley, she was waving because she was really tired and it seemed like a good idea, but none of that mattered because of the most important thing which was no one she knew and loved was dead.
She was almost surprised. With the complete disappearance of the rest of Team Campbell- Alex and Maddy and that bitch no one cared about- she'd almost started to resign herself to the fact that one (or all) of them was dead. Of course she wouldn't let her brain go any nearer to that thought than the impersonal 'maybe that's why they're not here yet'. But she was wrong, they were all alive and now the question was why the fuck they weren't here yet.
First things first, though. Now it was finally time for Hayley Kelly to put some fucking clothes on.
She grabbed her bag. She'd overpacked- there were enough outfits for a week as she'd decided that her choices would have to depend on circumstance. She hadn't exactly been expecting this but hell, they could have had to go hiking or something. She had to have packed something vaguely functional, right?
The first thing she pulled out of her bag was a purple pleather miniskirt.
WHY DO I OWN THESE THINGS?
She discarded that- unless she was going to go the be-a-total-slut route, it was entirely useless. Why she'd even packed it, she had no idea. Probably as a sneak-to-the-boys-cabin kind of deal, the kind of garment you wear because you know it's going to be off you in a hurry.
Of course, Hayley probably would be going the be-a-total-slut route except 1. she was a known killer already and 2. she was with her boyfriend and ex-girlfriend, who she totally cared about way too much to upset with that whore bullshit.
And boo, drama.
Whatever. She went back to searching for something wearable.
I really didn't give myself much to work with here, did I? Did I even pack pants? No. Fuck. I'm really not good at this practical-clothing bullshit. The hell was I gonna wear if I did go hiking?
There was an easy answer to that one, which was not go hiking, but oh well, Hayley kept looking and eventually found something that seemed relatively workable. A tight-fitted black Beatles shirt and her favorite piece of clothing in the world, a plaid miniskirt so full of tulle it turned into a tutu. Sure, if she tried to kick someone in the face she'd be flashing the world, and sure it was still plenty skanky all things considered (the damn thing covered her ass at least, if barely). But it was comfortable, and she could run around in it, and that was what mattered. She was thankful to find a pair of black Converse hiding at the bottom of her bag as well. Not her first choice in physical-activity footwear, but better than nothing.
"Yay clothing," she muttered semi-sarcastically, having forgotten at least for now how much fun being practically naked yesterday hadn't been. And then she realized a little late that, all things considered, she could probably do with a new bra and some new underwear, too. She had no trouble picking out a cute white and navy set. "Kyle, you might want to turn around. Or not, honestly it's cool with-" And then she realized she wasn't talking to anyone.
Kyle wasn't there. Ema was, still lying on the couch, conscious but groggy. But Kyle was nowhere to be seen.
"Fucking...hell. Ema, you see where Kyle went?"
She shook her head groggily, and Hayley cursed under her breath.
"Awesome. First job of the morning, then. He really shouldn't just walk off...alright, I'm getting dressed now, so turn around, or don't, I really don't give."
And Hayley realized suddenly that she sort of did.
Ema and Hayley hadn't progressed all that far in their relationship. They weren't together for all that long, but that wasn't much of an issue when Hayley Kelly was involved. No, it was more Ema's inexperience that held them back, and Hayley wasn't one to rush anyone into anything they didn't want to do. Much as she may have wanted to. So Ema had never seen her naked. Close to it, what with the romp around the goddamn woods in her lacy-assed panties yesterday, but not actually naked. And Hayley cared.
Not enough to say so out loud, though.
She spared the camera a single glance before unclasping her bra and pulling it off. Whatever, right? Who cared about them. Her parents, maybe, but she wasn't going to think about them. They probably weren't watching, anyway, they wouldn't want to watch. The only other person at home whose opinion she gave a fuck about wouldn't judge her for this. She made a concentrated effort to think about him laughing over this at home instead of thinking about- or looking at- the girl lying on the couch, and in doing so she managed to make herself almost comfortable. She pulled her panties off and kicked them away, pulling her new undergarments on. She didn't linger, but she didn't scramble, either. Nudity was a part of her life. Who cared if millions of people were seeing her naked right now? She wasn't going to live to meet any of them.
Probably.
Hayley winked at the camera because...because she was going to hell anyway and why the fuck not. The shirt went on next, then the skirt, and finally her shoes. And now she was remembering the girl on the couch and now she was going to have to look at Ema, wasn't she? She did so, feeling heat rush to her cheeks-
PATHETIC. Seriously? You just winked at the goddamn camera after getting naked in front of the entire country and now you're blushing because one girl saw you. Sure it's Ema but fuck that makes it WORSE, you two have had sleepovers! Who gives a shit that she's your ex, that doesn't matter, does it?
Yeah, it did. It really, really did.
"I'll be right back. Don't do anything I wouldn't do. Which is to say do whatever the fuck you want."
Hayley fumbled through her daypack for her cigarettes and a lighter and headed out the door. Trying not to linger on what might have occurred had she stayed. What she'd wanted to occur. Why the fuck is this happening now? She lit a cigarette instead, and called out-
"Yo! Kyle! You around?"
Pleather for Breakfast
Day 4 [Closed for Team Campbell]
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Hollyquin†
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Pleather for Breakfast
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armeggedonCounselor†
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((Kyle Portman continued from Day 3 and Going Around in Circles.))
The events of the night before had blurred in Kyle's sleep deprived mind. Exhaustion had driven him to falling asleep this evening, but his OCD born anxiety had kept waking him up in mere hours. After several repetitions of this cycle, he finally gave up around... he judged it to be nearly 4 am, due to the barest glimmer of sunlight appearing through the trees. With quiet care, so as to not disturb Hayley or Ema, he slipped out of the hut, glancing around to assess the danger. No one around.... It was quiet, still dark and a little cold. Kyle glanced back into the hut, watching Hayley sleep for a moment. A gentle smile crossed his face, and he slipped away into the night.
He didn't go far. He couldn't- he had promised Hayley he would stay around. He just went near the middle of the clearing, to sit on a large rock. He stared into the forest, losing himself in thought.
Soon... well, not soon, it was two hours later, the announcement knocked him out of his reverie. He listened dispassionately. All of these people were relatively unknown to him- the only important thing was the second appearance of Hayley's name. Dangerous for her, dangerous for him. Oh, and dangerous for Ema too. If she stayed with them. Which, personally, Kyle didn't think was likely. She had been... secretive about her choice, which probably meant she didn't want to hurt Hayley's feelings.
Kyle started to stare into space again. It helped him concentrate, to think like this. It also kept him from getting too anxious, as long as his thoughts didn't turn toward any sort of danger.
So he thought about puppies.
Soon, however, his concentration was broken by Hayley yelling his name. He looked up, unconsciously drawing his knife rapidly. No danger presented itself, and Kyle's brain sent back that she had merely been looking for him.
"I'm-" he cut himself off. His voice was, due to stress and lack of sleep (as well as far less water than normal) beginning to crack and die. He cleared his throat and started again. "I'm over here."
The events of the night before had blurred in Kyle's sleep deprived mind. Exhaustion had driven him to falling asleep this evening, but his OCD born anxiety had kept waking him up in mere hours. After several repetitions of this cycle, he finally gave up around... he judged it to be nearly 4 am, due to the barest glimmer of sunlight appearing through the trees. With quiet care, so as to not disturb Hayley or Ema, he slipped out of the hut, glancing around to assess the danger. No one around.... It was quiet, still dark and a little cold. Kyle glanced back into the hut, watching Hayley sleep for a moment. A gentle smile crossed his face, and he slipped away into the night.
He didn't go far. He couldn't- he had promised Hayley he would stay around. He just went near the middle of the clearing, to sit on a large rock. He stared into the forest, losing himself in thought.
Soon... well, not soon, it was two hours later, the announcement knocked him out of his reverie. He listened dispassionately. All of these people were relatively unknown to him- the only important thing was the second appearance of Hayley's name. Dangerous for her, dangerous for him. Oh, and dangerous for Ema too. If she stayed with them. Which, personally, Kyle didn't think was likely. She had been... secretive about her choice, which probably meant she didn't want to hurt Hayley's feelings.
Kyle started to stare into space again. It helped him concentrate, to think like this. It also kept him from getting too anxious, as long as his thoughts didn't turn toward any sort of danger.
So he thought about puppies.
Soon, however, his concentration was broken by Hayley yelling his name. He looked up, unconsciously drawing his knife rapidly. No danger presented itself, and Kyle's brain sent back that she had merely been looking for him.
"I'm-" he cut himself off. His voice was, due to stress and lack of sleep (as well as far less water than normal) beginning to crack and die. He cleared his throat and started again. "I'm over here."
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[Going Round In Circles --> Ema Ryan]
Ema would have liked to say that the evening of day three went by mostly as a blur, as cliche as it sounds. Because thinking in cliches was infinitely preferable to the reality. The reality was considerably more... grisly.
The sun was just about setting on the trio as they finally made their way down to the hut that Hayley apparently considered home, or the closest thing to it, and Ema had been looking forward to an uneventful and restful night. They had safety in numbers and an easily defensible position should anything happen. Things should've been fine. And by and large they were, except for...
"Urgh.." was literally all the girl had to say in response to the fen of a body resting on the bed inside, before covering her mouth and nose, backing out of the door. Witnessing a death was one thing, but walking in to see (and smell) a fly-infested corpse was quite another, and it was all Ema could do to keep herself from throwing up again. Luckily, she was spared any contact with it, as Hayley and Kyle took it upon themselves to remove the sickening body. What with being almost-naked, she didn't blame Hayley for washing herself off afterwards, but resolved never to touch the spare towel ever again.
As for the rest of the evening, it actually did pass uneventfully. Maddy and the others never showed up, Ema accepted the couch with little argument - enough to be polite, not enough to actually risk giving the comfort up - and she soon found herself fast asleep, though not without her falcata laying inches away from her right hand.
Even having had a good night's sleep on the beach, the ginger girl slept heavily, barely awoken by the unwelcome sound of Danya's voice, halfway through the announcement. Too groggy to actually glean much information from it, Ema gave up trying to listen after a few seconds, instead electing to remove her hair from her eyes and mouth - not sure how that even got there - and wait until she was awake enough to attempt movement. She closed her eyes, not seeing the point in having them open with nothing much to see.
"Fucking...hell. Ema, you see where Kyle went?"
Bluh, what? Scarcely able to decipher what she was being asked, Ema shook her head, trying to mumble something close to "No", though what came out was a long yawn, letting loose hair fell back into her mouth - so that's how it got there.
"Awesome. First job of the morning, then. He really shouldn't just walk off...alright, I'm getting dressed now, so turn around, or don't, I really don't give."
That one almost went by unheard too, until some part of Ema's mind latched onto the second half, in a very much "Do want" sort of way. Her consciousness at large didn't quite catch on for a few seconds, and when it did, for some idiotic reason it decided "Okay then, turning around is a great idea."
So a few awkward shuffles later, the girl had a faceful of cushions, and felt rather stupid. "The fuck are you doing girl?" her mind asked, no, demanded, "Forget principle, this is probably your last chance of anything close to getting what you won't stop bloody pining for. Take it!"
For some reason, Ema refused to turn her body back, not that being seen craning her neck to look was any better than being seen looking in a more comfortable position, but that didn't occur to her. Maybe she could just turn back quickly, look like she really was looking away... despite how Hayley proportedly didn't care, and nobody else was watching. And so, one awkward neck-twist later, she saw... almost nothing she hadn't already. A split second of bare behind, covered by underwear near-instantly after Ema turned back. Time was taunting the poor girl. "Oh for the love of... well played, Captain Innocent McVirginpants!" her inner snark berated her, and for once she actually agreed with it entirely. Biggest foul-up since not managing to catch up to Eve.
No, not thinking about that. Think about something pleasant instead. Like the glimpse of sexy ass you caught. See? Not a total failure.
"I'll be right back. Don't do anything I wouldn't do. Which is to say do whatever the fuck you want."
Luckily, in the course of her latest self-depreciative inner-dialogue, Ema's head had returned to a comfortable position. When Hayley looked around, she seemed to be looking away. Or maybe not luckily, Ema wasn't sure how either looking or not would be interpreted, but at least this way nothing awkward could ensue... then again, Kyle wasn't around, and apparently Hayley didn't care what Ema saw... what else didn't she care about?
"Yo! Kyle! You around?"
So with that, the anxiously amorous (is that even a real term? Well, it is now.) girl was alone. Alone with thoughts that were really difficult to dispel. Well, she was alone, and with her body turned away from the only camera surveying the room, nobody need know what it took to clear her head... right? Besides, she probably wouldn't have another chance, before, well, death.
A nervous right hand edged it's way between Ema's body and the back of the couch. Definitely alone. Definitely.
Ema would have liked to say that the evening of day three went by mostly as a blur, as cliche as it sounds. Because thinking in cliches was infinitely preferable to the reality. The reality was considerably more... grisly.
The sun was just about setting on the trio as they finally made their way down to the hut that Hayley apparently considered home, or the closest thing to it, and Ema had been looking forward to an uneventful and restful night. They had safety in numbers and an easily defensible position should anything happen. Things should've been fine. And by and large they were, except for...
"Urgh.." was literally all the girl had to say in response to the fen of a body resting on the bed inside, before covering her mouth and nose, backing out of the door. Witnessing a death was one thing, but walking in to see (and smell) a fly-infested corpse was quite another, and it was all Ema could do to keep herself from throwing up again. Luckily, she was spared any contact with it, as Hayley and Kyle took it upon themselves to remove the sickening body. What with being almost-naked, she didn't blame Hayley for washing herself off afterwards, but resolved never to touch the spare towel ever again.
As for the rest of the evening, it actually did pass uneventfully. Maddy and the others never showed up, Ema accepted the couch with little argument - enough to be polite, not enough to actually risk giving the comfort up - and she soon found herself fast asleep, though not without her falcata laying inches away from her right hand.
Even having had a good night's sleep on the beach, the ginger girl slept heavily, barely awoken by the unwelcome sound of Danya's voice, halfway through the announcement. Too groggy to actually glean much information from it, Ema gave up trying to listen after a few seconds, instead electing to remove her hair from her eyes and mouth - not sure how that even got there - and wait until she was awake enough to attempt movement. She closed her eyes, not seeing the point in having them open with nothing much to see.
"Fucking...hell. Ema, you see where Kyle went?"
Bluh, what? Scarcely able to decipher what she was being asked, Ema shook her head, trying to mumble something close to "No", though what came out was a long yawn, letting loose hair fell back into her mouth - so that's how it got there.
"Awesome. First job of the morning, then. He really shouldn't just walk off...alright, I'm getting dressed now, so turn around, or don't, I really don't give."
That one almost went by unheard too, until some part of Ema's mind latched onto the second half, in a very much "Do want" sort of way. Her consciousness at large didn't quite catch on for a few seconds, and when it did, for some idiotic reason it decided "Okay then, turning around is a great idea."
So a few awkward shuffles later, the girl had a faceful of cushions, and felt rather stupid. "The fuck are you doing girl?" her mind asked, no, demanded, "Forget principle, this is probably your last chance of anything close to getting what you won't stop bloody pining for. Take it!"
For some reason, Ema refused to turn her body back, not that being seen craning her neck to look was any better than being seen looking in a more comfortable position, but that didn't occur to her. Maybe she could just turn back quickly, look like she really was looking away... despite how Hayley proportedly didn't care, and nobody else was watching. And so, one awkward neck-twist later, she saw... almost nothing she hadn't already. A split second of bare behind, covered by underwear near-instantly after Ema turned back. Time was taunting the poor girl. "Oh for the love of... well played, Captain Innocent McVirginpants!" her inner snark berated her, and for once she actually agreed with it entirely. Biggest foul-up since not managing to catch up to Eve.
No, not thinking about that. Think about something pleasant instead. Like the glimpse of sexy ass you caught. See? Not a total failure.
"I'll be right back. Don't do anything I wouldn't do. Which is to say do whatever the fuck you want."
Luckily, in the course of her latest self-depreciative inner-dialogue, Ema's head had returned to a comfortable position. When Hayley looked around, she seemed to be looking away. Or maybe not luckily, Ema wasn't sure how either looking or not would be interpreted, but at least this way nothing awkward could ensue... then again, Kyle wasn't around, and apparently Hayley didn't care what Ema saw... what else didn't she care about?
"Yo! Kyle! You around?"
So with that, the anxiously amorous (is that even a real term? Well, it is now.) girl was alone. Alone with thoughts that were really difficult to dispel. Well, she was alone, and with her body turned away from the only camera surveying the room, nobody need know what it took to clear her head... right? Besides, she probably wouldn't have another chance, before, well, death.
A nervous right hand edged it's way between Ema's body and the back of the couch. Definitely alone. Definitely.
This is an archival account used by staff to port posts belonging to the handler Chib. While this handler hasn't been around in quite a while, should they return and wish to take custody of this account and/or its posts, they are welcome to do so by contacting staff.
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Hollyquin†
- Posts: 332
- Joined: Sat Sep 01, 2018 5:24 am
Well. That was easy.
Kyle wasn't far. Hell, halfway through calling out for him she realized that doing so was unnecessary. He was right there, after all. In the clearing. Sitting. Thinking. That was so very Kyle of him that it let Hayley forget about where they were for a moment, at least for the split second hanging in time between her spotting him and his drawing his knife.
Hayley jumped, dropping her cigarette and then scrambling to the ground to retrieve it, proving exactly what her priorities were in any situation. Of course there wasn't any real danger- it was just Kyle, after all, and it was only natural for him to be ready for someone trying to take him from behind. Heh...That's what she said.
The thing that bothered Hayley was that she'd left Vera inside.
The thing that bothered her more was that for one second- one split second- she was afraid. Afraid of Kyle.
Girly, if there's one thing you can take for granted right now it's that Kyle isn't gonna try to kill you. Neither is Ema. If you're wrong about that, you're dead anyway, so don't worry about it right now. When the time comes, when we and Alex and Maddy- Charlene didn't even cross her mind -and Isabel and Dutchy and Jay are the top...one, two...eight, then I can think about them wanting to kill me, cause they damn well might. Well, not Dutchy, he wouldn't hurt a fly, and I don't think Maddy would either, or Alex, but you never know with Isabel...or Jay, really-
This was getting really off-topic and she knew it.
But, Kyle, how loyal is he to me, really? More loyal than he is to anyone else here, probably, but loyal enough to die to let me win? Nah. He'd take me to the top two and shoot me in the head, I bet.
But that doesn't matter! That's not for a long fucking time. This game ain't even halfway over and in the meantime, Kyle's useful.
...And besides, I don't want to hurt him.
In the space it took her to mull all of that over, Kyle had spoken.
"I'm...I'm over here."
Well. She'd known that, but his voice snapped Hayley out of her internal dialogue. She took a pull of her cigarette and blew the smoke out rather absentmindedly, given that the breeze was blowing towards her at that particular moment. The smoke blew back in her face and she blinked as her eyes teared up.
"Well, get up and get over here, mister. We've got to have a...like, group planning discussion variety thing. Figure out where we're going from here."
That settled, she turned right back around and reentered the hut. She scolded herself for the twitch of nerves she felt at leaving her back exposed to him. He's not going to fucking knife you, honeybee. Chill the fuck out. Paranoia gets you nowhere.
worst comes to worst I'm the one with the gun
Hayley inhaled smoke again, figuring Ema wouldn't mind all that much. The girl didn't like the smell of cigarette smoke, but these were extenuating circumstances, right? Speaking of Ema, the poor girl's face was buried in the couch cushions right now. Oh, shit. Probably shouldn't have left her alone. Is she mad at me? She's probably mad at me.
She approached Ema slowly, quietly. "Hey, Ema, you alright?"
Kyle wasn't far. Hell, halfway through calling out for him she realized that doing so was unnecessary. He was right there, after all. In the clearing. Sitting. Thinking. That was so very Kyle of him that it let Hayley forget about where they were for a moment, at least for the split second hanging in time between her spotting him and his drawing his knife.
Hayley jumped, dropping her cigarette and then scrambling to the ground to retrieve it, proving exactly what her priorities were in any situation. Of course there wasn't any real danger- it was just Kyle, after all, and it was only natural for him to be ready for someone trying to take him from behind. Heh...That's what she said.
The thing that bothered Hayley was that she'd left Vera inside.
The thing that bothered her more was that for one second- one split second- she was afraid. Afraid of Kyle.
Girly, if there's one thing you can take for granted right now it's that Kyle isn't gonna try to kill you. Neither is Ema. If you're wrong about that, you're dead anyway, so don't worry about it right now. When the time comes, when we and Alex and Maddy- Charlene didn't even cross her mind -and Isabel and Dutchy and Jay are the top...one, two...eight, then I can think about them wanting to kill me, cause they damn well might. Well, not Dutchy, he wouldn't hurt a fly, and I don't think Maddy would either, or Alex, but you never know with Isabel...or Jay, really-
This was getting really off-topic and she knew it.
But, Kyle, how loyal is he to me, really? More loyal than he is to anyone else here, probably, but loyal enough to die to let me win? Nah. He'd take me to the top two and shoot me in the head, I bet.
But that doesn't matter! That's not for a long fucking time. This game ain't even halfway over and in the meantime, Kyle's useful.
...And besides, I don't want to hurt him.
In the space it took her to mull all of that over, Kyle had spoken.
"I'm...I'm over here."
Well. She'd known that, but his voice snapped Hayley out of her internal dialogue. She took a pull of her cigarette and blew the smoke out rather absentmindedly, given that the breeze was blowing towards her at that particular moment. The smoke blew back in her face and she blinked as her eyes teared up.
"Well, get up and get over here, mister. We've got to have a...like, group planning discussion variety thing. Figure out where we're going from here."
That settled, she turned right back around and reentered the hut. She scolded herself for the twitch of nerves she felt at leaving her back exposed to him. He's not going to fucking knife you, honeybee. Chill the fuck out. Paranoia gets you nowhere.
worst comes to worst I'm the one with the gun
Hayley inhaled smoke again, figuring Ema wouldn't mind all that much. The girl didn't like the smell of cigarette smoke, but these were extenuating circumstances, right? Speaking of Ema, the poor girl's face was buried in the couch cushions right now. Oh, shit. Probably shouldn't have left her alone. Is she mad at me? She's probably mad at me.
She approached Ema slowly, quietly. "Hey, Ema, you alright?"
This is an archival account used by staff to port posts belonging to the handler Hollyquin. While this handler hasn't been around in quite a while, should they return and wish to take custody of this account and/or its posts, they are welcome to do so by contacting staff.
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armeggedonCounselor†
- Posts: 190
- Joined: Sat Sep 01, 2018 5:24 am
Kyle was a little surprised by Hayley's surprise and the look of... fear? Why.... Oh. He looked down guiltily, staring at the knife he couldn't remember drawing. He slipped it back in his pocket, averting his eyes from Hayley. She said something about having a meeting, to which Kyle nodded quietly.
"I'll be in in a moment," he said, clearing his throat again after the short sentence. He watched Hayley walk inside.
The moment she was out of view, he whacked himself on the head. Due diligence was one thing, but....
"Fucking hell. Smartest idiot on this island, Kyle Portman."
He stood, clenching his jaw slightly and walking in toward the hut.
"I'll be in in a moment," he said, clearing his throat again after the short sentence. He watched Hayley walk inside.
The moment she was out of view, he whacked himself on the head. Due diligence was one thing, but....
"Fucking hell. Smartest idiot on this island, Kyle Portman."
He stood, clenching his jaw slightly and walking in toward the hut.
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If Ema had been listening closely, she would've heard voices not far outside, she would've known that Kyle had only gone a few metres, not wandered off altogether. She wouldn't have continued. But she was scarecely listening, let alone closely, being too busy concentrating on the visual, not the aural; specifically, wrestling with the sofa to manouvre her limbs without actually moving her torso much, or rotating it at all.
After finally getting as comfortable as was practical, further frantic one-handed grappling commenced, in an attempt to get under the waist of her jeans, drawn tightly to her abdomen as a result of her previous wriggling about. Typical. Eventually, electing to raise her hips from the couch and take friction out of the equation, Ema succeeded in re-adjusting the (still annoying tight-fitting) jeans to a manageable position, and dropped back with an irritated sigh. It occurred to her, for a moment, that she was decidedly more... bothered, so to speak, than really seemed fitting for what little had provoked the mood to begin with.
"Three full days here, and what, it was nearly a whole week before even leaving? Bloody hell girl, I'm not surprised."
Apparently good for record-keeping as well as being annoying as hell, the sardonic part of Ema's mind was right. So she stopped dwelling on the reasoning, and applied her attention to the means. The waistline of her jeans was loosened enough now that she could get one hand underneath with some effort, but without having to unbutton them. Worth it for plausible deniability. Now with less anxiousness and more single-mindedness, the girl proceeded as planned. There was a slight scratch of nails against denim for a few seconds, then silence. Fingers carefully made their way downwards, thighs moved ever-so-slightly apart. A single layer of fabric proved little barrier between fingertips and sensitive flesh, and... "Hey, Ema, you alright?"
The words cut through the perverse fugue with brutal speed, snapping Ema back into the world outside of her own body. Holy shit, Hayley was already back, and she hadn't even heard her coming in. Which meant Kyle was probably there too, and she hadn't heard him either. Fuck. "Stay calm, act normal, this is why you're facing aw-- But I ha-- I said fucking stay calm and act normal."
So she did. Slowly withdrawing her hand and forearm from the front of her jeans, Ema remained otherwise perfectly still, and then lay her right hand on the couch behind her back, as a pivot to turn around and face Hayley, hoping against hope that it would look innocuous. And then, in the scratchy non-voice she thought she'd abandoned two days ago, Ema attempted to say "Yeah, I'm fine. Did you find Kyle?"
It didn't come out remotely clearly, so, improvising to act as though it was just a morning thing, she hastily grabbed for a water bottle in her dayback, took a long drink, and tried again, this time only managing "Yeah, fine.", accompanied by an awkward not-really-a-smile.
[Edit; removed the randomly occurring bold at the end, not sure how I didn't notice that when I posted it...]
After finally getting as comfortable as was practical, further frantic one-handed grappling commenced, in an attempt to get under the waist of her jeans, drawn tightly to her abdomen as a result of her previous wriggling about. Typical. Eventually, electing to raise her hips from the couch and take friction out of the equation, Ema succeeded in re-adjusting the (still annoying tight-fitting) jeans to a manageable position, and dropped back with an irritated sigh. It occurred to her, for a moment, that she was decidedly more... bothered, so to speak, than really seemed fitting for what little had provoked the mood to begin with.
"Three full days here, and what, it was nearly a whole week before even leaving? Bloody hell girl, I'm not surprised."
Apparently good for record-keeping as well as being annoying as hell, the sardonic part of Ema's mind was right. So she stopped dwelling on the reasoning, and applied her attention to the means. The waistline of her jeans was loosened enough now that she could get one hand underneath with some effort, but without having to unbutton them. Worth it for plausible deniability. Now with less anxiousness and more single-mindedness, the girl proceeded as planned. There was a slight scratch of nails against denim for a few seconds, then silence. Fingers carefully made their way downwards, thighs moved ever-so-slightly apart. A single layer of fabric proved little barrier between fingertips and sensitive flesh, and... "Hey, Ema, you alright?"
The words cut through the perverse fugue with brutal speed, snapping Ema back into the world outside of her own body. Holy shit, Hayley was already back, and she hadn't even heard her coming in. Which meant Kyle was probably there too, and she hadn't heard him either. Fuck. "Stay calm, act normal, this is why you're facing aw-- But I ha-- I said fucking stay calm and act normal."
So she did. Slowly withdrawing her hand and forearm from the front of her jeans, Ema remained otherwise perfectly still, and then lay her right hand on the couch behind her back, as a pivot to turn around and face Hayley, hoping against hope that it would look innocuous. And then, in the scratchy non-voice she thought she'd abandoned two days ago, Ema attempted to say "Yeah, I'm fine. Did you find Kyle?"
It didn't come out remotely clearly, so, improvising to act as though it was just a morning thing, she hastily grabbed for a water bottle in her dayback, took a long drink, and tried again, this time only managing "Yeah, fine.", accompanied by an awkward not-really-a-smile.
[Edit; removed the randomly occurring bold at the end, not sure how I didn't notice that when I posted it...]
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Hollyquin†
- Posts: 332
- Joined: Sat Sep 01, 2018 5:24 am
The other girl was...well, she was alive, anyway.
Hayley blinked as Ema made some incoherent attempt at speech. She didn't seem like she was mad at Hayley or anything, that was a relief at least, but she wasn't particularly conscious, either. Still tired, maybe? Yeah, that seemed likely- the other girl grabbed at her water bottle and took a long drink, managing a "Yeah, fine." Which was enough for Hayley, anyway. She was fine and didn't seem particularly upset. Just groggy. Why had she been all pressed into the couch, though?
Maybe she did turn away, after all.
She shook that away. Now was not the time to debate over whether or not her ex-girlfriend best friend had seen her naked. Now was the time for ACTION!
Or something.
"Well. Good. You die in your sleep and I'll...er...kill you?" Humor on the gallows? Pft. Hayley moved on. "Anyway. I found Kyle." That was a bit unnecessary, he was standing not ten feet away. "He was closer than I'd figured." That was unnecessary too, given that they were already-
Hayley decided to stop second-guessing herself and just speak.
"So. I'm sure it's not just bugging me that Maddy and Alex" and that stupid bitch Charlene "still aren't here. I mean...Christ, they were supposed to be here, what, like, eighteen hours ago? Some shit like that, I suck at time. But...what should we do now? We can't stay here forever. They can't be dead, unless they died in the last...half hour or so. They could be badly injured though...or just lost, and they might not get here, ever, and then we'll just be waiting around here until some brigade of assholes marches in here and shoots the shit out of all of us. Which would be bad, presumably."
She paused to breathe. She really wasn't getting anywhere, was she?
"So, well...What should we do? I don't want to lose track of them. It was ridiculously good luck that I found them to begin with and I'm probably not going to find them again, alive anyway, even with Alex's tracker thing. I figure we can wait around here a while more, but...if it gets too late...we might just have to leave. And hope really fuckin' hard we get lucky."
Hayley blinked as Ema made some incoherent attempt at speech. She didn't seem like she was mad at Hayley or anything, that was a relief at least, but she wasn't particularly conscious, either. Still tired, maybe? Yeah, that seemed likely- the other girl grabbed at her water bottle and took a long drink, managing a "Yeah, fine." Which was enough for Hayley, anyway. She was fine and didn't seem particularly upset. Just groggy. Why had she been all pressed into the couch, though?
Maybe she did turn away, after all.
She shook that away. Now was not the time to debate over whether or not her ex-girlfriend best friend had seen her naked. Now was the time for ACTION!
Or something.
"Well. Good. You die in your sleep and I'll...er...kill you?" Humor on the gallows? Pft. Hayley moved on. "Anyway. I found Kyle." That was a bit unnecessary, he was standing not ten feet away. "He was closer than I'd figured." That was unnecessary too, given that they were already-
Hayley decided to stop second-guessing herself and just speak.
"So. I'm sure it's not just bugging me that Maddy and Alex" and that stupid bitch Charlene "still aren't here. I mean...Christ, they were supposed to be here, what, like, eighteen hours ago? Some shit like that, I suck at time. But...what should we do now? We can't stay here forever. They can't be dead, unless they died in the last...half hour or so. They could be badly injured though...or just lost, and they might not get here, ever, and then we'll just be waiting around here until some brigade of assholes marches in here and shoots the shit out of all of us. Which would be bad, presumably."
She paused to breathe. She really wasn't getting anywhere, was she?
"So, well...What should we do? I don't want to lose track of them. It was ridiculously good luck that I found them to begin with and I'm probably not going to find them again, alive anyway, even with Alex's tracker thing. I figure we can wait around here a while more, but...if it gets too late...we might just have to leave. And hope really fuckin' hard we get lucky."
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(Well damn, it's been 17 days, guess it's skipping time. But... I really can't write right now. So consider this a placeholder to let y'all know I'm still active, and I'll fill it with RP tomorrow. Promise.)
(And now it's tomorrow. Almost Wednesday, actually. Getting on this.)
"Well. Good. You die in your sleep and I'll...er...kill you?"
Fabulous choice of words, given the situation. If not for being so pre-occupied with other thoughts, Ema probably would've appreciated the irony, maybe even met the intentional contradiction with a laugh. But she didn't, she barely even registered it. Too busy trying to read Hayley's face to actually listen to what she was saying. Didn't look like she'd noticed, but not being a psychologist, Ema actually had no solid idea whether she was right or not. She hoped she was right.
"Anyway. I found Kyle." beat "He was closer than I'd figured."
In the midst of attempted expression-reading, Ema finally realised that the lips were moving, speech was happening, she should probably be listening and not staring blankly. Kyle had been found. "Makes sense, she's back, isn't she?". A look to the side confirmed this, as if it needed confirming. Seemed he'd just gone outside for some air and neglected to tell anyone. False alarm, minor crisis, all resolved. Relieving? Should be, but sort of wasn't. She would've hated to admit it out loud, but to herself, Ema was fine with the realisation. She didn't want Kyle to be found. She wanted him to have wandered off and not come back. Not that she wanted him dead, just... gone.
"Hayley's still talking, get your shit together and listen."
"So. I'm sure it's not just bugging me that Maddy and Alex still aren't here. I mean...Christ, they were supposed to be here, what, like, eighteen hours ago? Some shit like that, I suck at time. But...what should we do now? We can't stay here forever. They can't be dead, unless they died in the last...half hour or so. They could be badly injured though...or just lost, and they might not get here, ever, and then we'll just be waiting around here until some brigade of assholes marches in here and shoots the shit out of all of us. Which would be bad, presumably."
Quite a speech, for the relative lack of pauses punctuating it. Predictably, Hayley needed to pause for breath afterwards. The few seconds of silence saw a rather quizzical look form on Ema's face, replacing the somewhere-between-embarrassment-and-tiredness (and a dash of attempting-to-look-neutral, for good measure). Presumably? Getting shot up is always a bad thing, unless... the thought went unfinished, Hayley was continuing.
"So, well...What should we do? I don't want to lose track of them. It was ridiculously good luck that I found them to begin with and I'm probably not going to find them again, alive anyway, even with Alex's tracker thing. I figure we can wait around here a while more, but...if it gets too late...we might just have to leave. And hope really fuckin' hard we get lucky."
More speaking with few pauses, another pause for breath. The pause came and went, and Ema felt she should respond. Though she really didn't know what to say. Stopping to mull over everything she'd just heard and actually process it, she decided that 'safety in numbers' trumps 'safety in anonymity', especially with Hayley's face being known to many, and her name now associated with two deaths. So, to summarise that thought trail, Ema eloquently replied "...yeah.", complete with a so-very-erudite nod. "Sarcasm again? It's getting old."
...unless she's suicidal?
(And now it's tomorrow. Almost Wednesday, actually. Getting on this.)
"Well. Good. You die in your sleep and I'll...er...kill you?"
Fabulous choice of words, given the situation. If not for being so pre-occupied with other thoughts, Ema probably would've appreciated the irony, maybe even met the intentional contradiction with a laugh. But she didn't, she barely even registered it. Too busy trying to read Hayley's face to actually listen to what she was saying. Didn't look like she'd noticed, but not being a psychologist, Ema actually had no solid idea whether she was right or not. She hoped she was right.
"Anyway. I found Kyle." beat "He was closer than I'd figured."
In the midst of attempted expression-reading, Ema finally realised that the lips were moving, speech was happening, she should probably be listening and not staring blankly. Kyle had been found. "Makes sense, she's back, isn't she?". A look to the side confirmed this, as if it needed confirming. Seemed he'd just gone outside for some air and neglected to tell anyone. False alarm, minor crisis, all resolved. Relieving? Should be, but sort of wasn't. She would've hated to admit it out loud, but to herself, Ema was fine with the realisation. She didn't want Kyle to be found. She wanted him to have wandered off and not come back. Not that she wanted him dead, just... gone.
"Hayley's still talking, get your shit together and listen."
"So. I'm sure it's not just bugging me that Maddy and Alex still aren't here. I mean...Christ, they were supposed to be here, what, like, eighteen hours ago? Some shit like that, I suck at time. But...what should we do now? We can't stay here forever. They can't be dead, unless they died in the last...half hour or so. They could be badly injured though...or just lost, and they might not get here, ever, and then we'll just be waiting around here until some brigade of assholes marches in here and shoots the shit out of all of us. Which would be bad, presumably."
Quite a speech, for the relative lack of pauses punctuating it. Predictably, Hayley needed to pause for breath afterwards. The few seconds of silence saw a rather quizzical look form on Ema's face, replacing the somewhere-between-embarrassment-and-tiredness (and a dash of attempting-to-look-neutral, for good measure). Presumably? Getting shot up is always a bad thing, unless... the thought went unfinished, Hayley was continuing.
"So, well...What should we do? I don't want to lose track of them. It was ridiculously good luck that I found them to begin with and I'm probably not going to find them again, alive anyway, even with Alex's tracker thing. I figure we can wait around here a while more, but...if it gets too late...we might just have to leave. And hope really fuckin' hard we get lucky."
More speaking with few pauses, another pause for breath. The pause came and went, and Ema felt she should respond. Though she really didn't know what to say. Stopping to mull over everything she'd just heard and actually process it, she decided that 'safety in numbers' trumps 'safety in anonymity', especially with Hayley's face being known to many, and her name now associated with two deaths. So, to summarise that thought trail, Ema eloquently replied "...yeah.", complete with a so-very-erudite nod. "Sarcasm again? It's getting old."
...unless she's suicidal?
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armeggedonCounselor†
- Posts: 190
- Joined: Sat Sep 01, 2018 5:24 am
((Oh shit it has been? Crap. I'll be posting right after you do, all going according to plan. I suppose I should check my other topics ugh fudge I hate this season....))
((Okay. Apologies for the coming crappiness of this post. I haven't been in a writing mood.))
Kyle listened to Hayley deliberate to herself. He was, as terrible as it felt, not interested. The others were... annoying. Too many people to worry about. And the group would have six people. He hated six. It was a strange thing, but made sense to his... admittedly twisted mind.
"I think we should wait here. If they are not dead, I feel like they are still on their way here, albeit waylaid by something. We could stay here until the evening, and if they have not shown up by then, look at the map and fine places between the Fun Fair and here."
His voice was still raspy, and in this case, fairly emotionless. He leaned against the door jamb and waited for the inevitable response to his suggestion.
((Okay. Apologies for the coming crappiness of this post. I haven't been in a writing mood.))
Kyle listened to Hayley deliberate to herself. He was, as terrible as it felt, not interested. The others were... annoying. Too many people to worry about. And the group would have six people. He hated six. It was a strange thing, but made sense to his... admittedly twisted mind.
"I think we should wait here. If they are not dead, I feel like they are still on their way here, albeit waylaid by something. We could stay here until the evening, and if they have not shown up by then, look at the map and fine places between the Fun Fair and here."
His voice was still raspy, and in this case, fairly emotionless. He leaned against the door jamb and waited for the inevitable response to his suggestion.
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Hollyquin†
- Posts: 332
- Joined: Sat Sep 01, 2018 5:24 am
[[OOC: Prepare for massive time skip~]]
Oh, fuck, what's wrong with Ema? She's like...beyond tired. Thinking about something, maybe? Thinking...about...ab-
No, Ema wasn't allowed to be thinking about leaving. Right now that was the worst possible thing- as long as Hayley had reassurance that Alex and Maddy weren't dead, the biggest blow to her right now would be losing Ema.
Or Kyle.
Why do I feel like that would bother me less...?
Hayley shook her head. It wasn't that Kyle leaving wouldn't bother her, it was that she knew Kyle wasn't leaving and so didn't have to worry about it. Yeah, that was it. At any rate, Ema's only reply to her inquiry was yeah and a nod, which told Hayley exactly jack-shit. She looked up and over to Kyle to hear his predictably well-considered response.
"I think we should wait here. If they are not dead, I feel like they are still on their way here, albeit waylaid by something. We could stay here until the evening, and if they have not shown up by then, look at the map and fine places between the Fun Fair and here."
Hayley nodded. That was...logical, but she was put off by his tone of voice, somehow. He sounds so...I dunno, cold, almost. I mean, I guess Alex and Maddy aren't his concern, he doesn't really know either of them. He just wants to keep himself alive. And...me. Huh. Feels weird, being protected. Hasn't exactly been my game so far.
A dark laugh escaped from her lips. Yeah, no, I've been protecting people this whole time. I'm like...the dark angel of decapitation. Or some shit. Fuck, I can't even decide if that's an awesome nickname or not.
"The Dark Angel of Decapitation"...
...No, okay, that's retarded. What was I thinking about?
Right. Yeah, I've been the one protecting people.
I...well, I was trying to protect everyone back at the fun fair, though admittedly that was more like me being a fucking idiot. But back at the beach, hell yeah I did the right thing. I saved them both. I don't really need protecting, do I? It's probably some weird guy thing, like Kyle thinks he has to protect me because we're dating, and he's a boy. That makes sense, I guess, but hell, I have a gun. Isn't it my job to make sure we all survives this?
Yeah. Yeah, I can do this. No one here is gonna die, least not while I'm here.
At this point, Hayley had completely forgotten how she'd gotten to this conclusion, or in fact what she had begun thinking about that led her here. She shook the irrelevant thoughts away and lit another cigarette, hardly even noticing how few remained. Did it matter?
...like someone who quits smoking on their deathbed, the quote came to her mind, unbidden. Yeah, not me. 'Specially cause I'm not gonna die.
She shook that away, too. This untamed optimism had to go away or else she'd just be extra disappointed when she was a bloodstain on the fucking pavement.
"...Yeah, I'm with you. No reason to blow this particular stand until...the stand's gonna blow." This island is brutally murdering my sense of humor. Please let no one I've ever met be watching this right now. She raised an eyebrow in response to her own apparent inability to say anything actually funny. "Anyway. So...I guess this is our home for now. So...don't get too comfortable, we might have to dip on short notice, but...yeah, get comfortable-ish. But keep your weapons within reach."
She was pretty clearly distracted- she took a long drag of her cigarette and took her own advice, moving over to her bag and picking up Vera, tightening her grip around its...grip.
Why is my brain so broken right now?
Hayley sighed and sat on the floor, putting the gun down beside her and taking something else from her bag. The Color of Magic, paperback. She hadn't expected to be back here, but she still couldn't bear to be separated from this one book.
She took another pull and began to read.
---
She had no idea how much time had passed, honestly. A good few hours, at least. She'd made some decent progress in the book, gone through another three cigarettes. She picked up her pack and frowned- one left. In this pack, anyway. She had a whole other one but really, she needed to stop mindlessly running through them. She put the pack down- this one could wait.
And then-
BZZZZZZZT.
Hayley jumped.
Wha-? But it's only, like, noonish...why would there be=?
And then she shut up and listened.
"Good afternoon, students. I've been instructed to read out a prewritten statement from Mr. Danya regarding an incident that has taken place on the island..."
That...that's not Danya. Mr. Kwong...but why?
She continued listening. Liz...Liz Polanski? I feel like I recognize the name, but...maybe we were in a class together or something? I don't-
Oh. Ohhhhh.
Dead silence from her, until "...as a punishment, we will now detonate a collar..." at which point her hands scrambled to her collar instinctively, her book dropping to the floor as she frantically looked between her two companions.
"B148, Daisuke Nagazawa, eliminated."
She sighed in relief, retrieving her book- fuck, what page was I on? argh...- mainly in an attempt to not think about what she was thinking about. Mostly in an attempt not to be so...
So pissed off.
Unbeknownst to Hayley, she wasn't the only one on the island having this revelation- the revelation that maybe having watched Survival of the Fittest before was not such an advantage after all. She hadn't even considered the possibility that these collars were anything but foolproof, and yet this other girl, this Liz Polanski, had not only considered the possibility but had apparently succeeded. The announcement didn't confirm that, but Hayley was quite sure that Danya wouldn't be basically putting out a hit on the girl if she hadn't seriously messed with the system.
Maybe someone else would take hope from that. Maybe someone else could think, if she did it, why can't I? and was starting to think of an escape plan. Maybe Alex heard it and took hope- not everyone's playing. People are trying to escape...
But no, Hayley Kelly wasn't getting her hopes off. She was busy being pissed that it hadn't been her.
Fuck...fuck. All this time...all this time, killing people, all this time thinking about how I'm gonna be last standing and for what? This girl's traipsing around the godfucking island with her collar off. Shit, she could go swimming off the island and the fuck could Danya do about it? She's beaten the system. And she's breaking cameras now too? Fuck...how did she get her collar off? How did she think of this shit when I couldn't?
She beat me. Goddammit...well, she's a target now, right? She's got the biggest target in this game on her back. Worse than I've got, even. So...
An irrational response? Perhaps, but-
I could kill her myself. I have to. Every second she's out there, breaking cameras, she's risking my life. Ema's. Kyle's. Alex's, Maddy's, Jay's, Isabel's, Dutchy's...everyone's. Someone needs to take her out.
A new weapon's always a nice thing, anyway.
Hayley looked back at her near-empty pack, then shrugged and lit the last cigarette, tossing the empty box across the room.
---
BZZZZZZZZZZZT.
What...again?
She'd moved a little. Taken a moment to fix her makeup, brush her hair, look as gorgeous as possible for the days ahead. After that last cigarette she'd stopped smoking- she'd open the pack the next time she desperately needed a smoke. For the moment she could deal. And now she was a good 2/3 way through her book, so that was progress made in something, at least. But another announcement? Unlikely to be anything good. She set her book on the ground and looked up towards the source of the voice. This time...it was Danya.
Another elimination.
And another, and another.
Hayley could only grit her teeth and close her eyes, praying silently that she wouldn't be the victim of bad numbers- that would be rather anticlimactic, wouldn't it?- and sighing with relief when she was not. She had tensed at the name Alex, but the last name, Rasputin, was unfamiliar to her. But...
Seriously? This bitch is still breaking cameras? Fuck, at this rate she's going to win because Danya's gonna kill the rest of us as punishment for her actions. Shit, we're like, all her whipping boy.
Just goes to reinforce what I said earlier. Gotta take her out before she indirectly takes us out first.
She opened her eyes again and suddenly became aware of something. The light was fading, fast- the sun was setting. How many hours had it been, then, since she'd woken up? Nearly twelve? And I've been sitting that whole time...
Hayley stood, wincing- her legs had apparently fallen asleep and she had to support herself with the couch to keep from falling back down. She addressed the other two for the first time since morning-
"So. It's sundown and we're still pretty alone, ne? So, should we stay the night again, or should we get out of here tonight? They could still show, I guess, but I really doubt it at this point, and any sort of shelter will be a high priority at night. Anyone near here is pretty likely to come over, looking for a place to sleep, and I'm really not in the mood for a fight."
Unless it's with Liz Polanski...
...Doubt they want anything to do with me killing anyone else. Best not to bring up my opinion on the matter. Unless one of them does first.
Oh, fuck, what's wrong with Ema? She's like...beyond tired. Thinking about something, maybe? Thinking...about...ab-
No, Ema wasn't allowed to be thinking about leaving. Right now that was the worst possible thing- as long as Hayley had reassurance that Alex and Maddy weren't dead, the biggest blow to her right now would be losing Ema.
Or Kyle.
Why do I feel like that would bother me less...?
Hayley shook her head. It wasn't that Kyle leaving wouldn't bother her, it was that she knew Kyle wasn't leaving and so didn't have to worry about it. Yeah, that was it. At any rate, Ema's only reply to her inquiry was yeah and a nod, which told Hayley exactly jack-shit. She looked up and over to Kyle to hear his predictably well-considered response.
"I think we should wait here. If they are not dead, I feel like they are still on their way here, albeit waylaid by something. We could stay here until the evening, and if they have not shown up by then, look at the map and fine places between the Fun Fair and here."
Hayley nodded. That was...logical, but she was put off by his tone of voice, somehow. He sounds so...I dunno, cold, almost. I mean, I guess Alex and Maddy aren't his concern, he doesn't really know either of them. He just wants to keep himself alive. And...me. Huh. Feels weird, being protected. Hasn't exactly been my game so far.
A dark laugh escaped from her lips. Yeah, no, I've been protecting people this whole time. I'm like...the dark angel of decapitation. Or some shit. Fuck, I can't even decide if that's an awesome nickname or not.
"The Dark Angel of Decapitation"...
...No, okay, that's retarded. What was I thinking about?
Right. Yeah, I've been the one protecting people.
I...well, I was trying to protect everyone back at the fun fair, though admittedly that was more like me being a fucking idiot. But back at the beach, hell yeah I did the right thing. I saved them both. I don't really need protecting, do I? It's probably some weird guy thing, like Kyle thinks he has to protect me because we're dating, and he's a boy. That makes sense, I guess, but hell, I have a gun. Isn't it my job to make sure we all survives this?
Yeah. Yeah, I can do this. No one here is gonna die, least not while I'm here.
At this point, Hayley had completely forgotten how she'd gotten to this conclusion, or in fact what she had begun thinking about that led her here. She shook the irrelevant thoughts away and lit another cigarette, hardly even noticing how few remained. Did it matter?
...like someone who quits smoking on their deathbed, the quote came to her mind, unbidden. Yeah, not me. 'Specially cause I'm not gonna die.
She shook that away, too. This untamed optimism had to go away or else she'd just be extra disappointed when she was a bloodstain on the fucking pavement.
"...Yeah, I'm with you. No reason to blow this particular stand until...the stand's gonna blow." This island is brutally murdering my sense of humor. Please let no one I've ever met be watching this right now. She raised an eyebrow in response to her own apparent inability to say anything actually funny. "Anyway. So...I guess this is our home for now. So...don't get too comfortable, we might have to dip on short notice, but...yeah, get comfortable-ish. But keep your weapons within reach."
She was pretty clearly distracted- she took a long drag of her cigarette and took her own advice, moving over to her bag and picking up Vera, tightening her grip around its...grip.
Why is my brain so broken right now?
Hayley sighed and sat on the floor, putting the gun down beside her and taking something else from her bag. The Color of Magic, paperback. She hadn't expected to be back here, but she still couldn't bear to be separated from this one book.
She took another pull and began to read.
---
She had no idea how much time had passed, honestly. A good few hours, at least. She'd made some decent progress in the book, gone through another three cigarettes. She picked up her pack and frowned- one left. In this pack, anyway. She had a whole other one but really, she needed to stop mindlessly running through them. She put the pack down- this one could wait.
And then-
BZZZZZZZT.
Hayley jumped.
Wha-? But it's only, like, noonish...why would there be=?
And then she shut up and listened.
"Good afternoon, students. I've been instructed to read out a prewritten statement from Mr. Danya regarding an incident that has taken place on the island..."
That...that's not Danya. Mr. Kwong...but why?
She continued listening. Liz...Liz Polanski? I feel like I recognize the name, but...maybe we were in a class together or something? I don't-
Oh. Ohhhhh.
Dead silence from her, until "...as a punishment, we will now detonate a collar..." at which point her hands scrambled to her collar instinctively, her book dropping to the floor as she frantically looked between her two companions.
"B148, Daisuke Nagazawa, eliminated."
She sighed in relief, retrieving her book- fuck, what page was I on? argh...- mainly in an attempt to not think about what she was thinking about. Mostly in an attempt not to be so...
So pissed off.
Unbeknownst to Hayley, she wasn't the only one on the island having this revelation- the revelation that maybe having watched Survival of the Fittest before was not such an advantage after all. She hadn't even considered the possibility that these collars were anything but foolproof, and yet this other girl, this Liz Polanski, had not only considered the possibility but had apparently succeeded. The announcement didn't confirm that, but Hayley was quite sure that Danya wouldn't be basically putting out a hit on the girl if she hadn't seriously messed with the system.
Maybe someone else would take hope from that. Maybe someone else could think, if she did it, why can't I? and was starting to think of an escape plan. Maybe Alex heard it and took hope- not everyone's playing. People are trying to escape...
But no, Hayley Kelly wasn't getting her hopes off. She was busy being pissed that it hadn't been her.
Fuck...fuck. All this time...all this time, killing people, all this time thinking about how I'm gonna be last standing and for what? This girl's traipsing around the godfucking island with her collar off. Shit, she could go swimming off the island and the fuck could Danya do about it? She's beaten the system. And she's breaking cameras now too? Fuck...how did she get her collar off? How did she think of this shit when I couldn't?
She beat me. Goddammit...well, she's a target now, right? She's got the biggest target in this game on her back. Worse than I've got, even. So...
An irrational response? Perhaps, but-
I could kill her myself. I have to. Every second she's out there, breaking cameras, she's risking my life. Ema's. Kyle's. Alex's, Maddy's, Jay's, Isabel's, Dutchy's...everyone's. Someone needs to take her out.
A new weapon's always a nice thing, anyway.
Hayley looked back at her near-empty pack, then shrugged and lit the last cigarette, tossing the empty box across the room.
---
BZZZZZZZZZZZT.
What...again?
She'd moved a little. Taken a moment to fix her makeup, brush her hair, look as gorgeous as possible for the days ahead. After that last cigarette she'd stopped smoking- she'd open the pack the next time she desperately needed a smoke. For the moment she could deal. And now she was a good 2/3 way through her book, so that was progress made in something, at least. But another announcement? Unlikely to be anything good. She set her book on the ground and looked up towards the source of the voice. This time...it was Danya.
Another elimination.
And another, and another.
Hayley could only grit her teeth and close her eyes, praying silently that she wouldn't be the victim of bad numbers- that would be rather anticlimactic, wouldn't it?- and sighing with relief when she was not. She had tensed at the name Alex, but the last name, Rasputin, was unfamiliar to her. But...
Seriously? This bitch is still breaking cameras? Fuck, at this rate she's going to win because Danya's gonna kill the rest of us as punishment for her actions. Shit, we're like, all her whipping boy.
Just goes to reinforce what I said earlier. Gotta take her out before she indirectly takes us out first.
She opened her eyes again and suddenly became aware of something. The light was fading, fast- the sun was setting. How many hours had it been, then, since she'd woken up? Nearly twelve? And I've been sitting that whole time...
Hayley stood, wincing- her legs had apparently fallen asleep and she had to support herself with the couch to keep from falling back down. She addressed the other two for the first time since morning-
"So. It's sundown and we're still pretty alone, ne? So, should we stay the night again, or should we get out of here tonight? They could still show, I guess, but I really doubt it at this point, and any sort of shelter will be a high priority at night. Anyone near here is pretty likely to come over, looking for a place to sleep, and I'm really not in the mood for a fight."
Unless it's with Liz Polanski...
...Doubt they want anything to do with me killing anyone else. Best not to bring up my opinion on the matter. Unless one of them does first.
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"I think we should wait here. If they are not dead, I feel like they are still on their way here, albeit waylaid by something. We could stay here until the evening, and if they have not shown up by then, look at the map and fine places between the Fun Fair and here."
Well, that made sense. And was articulated a lot more clearly than Ema's own response. Though in fairness, she had just been agreeing with Hayley, not actually intending to give a suggestion of her own. Maybe she should've been, but it was too late to by that point. Ema nodded her agreement once again, not even trying to say anything intelligent-sounding this time around.
"...Yeah, I'm with you. No reason to blow this particular stand until...the stand's gonna blow."
And with good reason, the island's eloquence-degenerating powers clearly weren't Ema-specific. Had she tried to make a joke, it probably would've been even worse. Beyond humourless, or in such bad taste even she herself would've found it offensive. Best not to even go there. Not unlike the island itself really, in terms of places not to... "Okay fuck no, that was apalling."
Incredibly dead sense of humour aside, spending the rest of the day hanging around seemed like a rather appealing prospect. Time to rest, contemplate, not have to hike across an island constantly under fear of attack, and maybe do some reading. Hayley had already gotten started with that, one of those Pratchett novels she herself had always intended to get into, but never really gotten around to. That one TV movie of the Hogfather had been good, after all, but actually picking up the original book remained a mission not accomplished. Following suit, Ema fished her - already rather worn-looking - copy of American Gods out of her daypack, spent about a minute figuring out what page she'd left off at, and settled in to read, finding the couch decidedly less comfortable now that she'd comitted to staying on it.
For the next few hours, she fidgeted about every few minutes, making herself marginally more comfortable than before, then returning to her attempt to just read. All the while, she tried more-or-less successfully to keep her head near the open window, rather than actually mention her distaste for the cigarette smoke that had quickly filled the air in the small building. Ema didn't even know why she felt uncomfortable mentioning it, when she actually thought about it, it wasn't as though she was particularly afraid of how Hayley would respond, or as though she was worried about offending the other girl; after all, her stance on smoking had been made pretty clear almost a year ago, to an accepting enough response. Maybe she just didn't want to break the oddly comfortable silence that had descended, or to feel like she was depriving Hayley of one of the few creature comforts available given the situation.
She really didn't know. Maybe with more time to think, she would've settled on an answer, but Danya interrupted her train of thought. No, not Danya, it was his announcement system and his alert noise, but not that voice that had come to be so familiar so quickly. It was familiar, though... one of the mathematics faculty? Kwong or something, that was his name. Hadn't ever taught Ema personally, but they'd spoken once or twice before. Hadn't all of the teachers been killed, though? Apparently not all of them.
The rest of the message didn't mean much to Ema, someone she'd never heard of and probably never met had done something that pissed Danya off, so somebody else she'd never heard of or probably ever met got to be killed over it. With a twinge of guilt, she realised she wasn't upset, only thankful that it hadn't been her or anyone she actually did know. Regardless, she spared a thought for the late Daisuke Nagazawa, whoever he'd been, before returning to her book. Escapism was certainly a comforting pastime, what with the shadow of death omnipresent in the real world. Even the fantastical exploits of literal Gods in Gaiman's world seemed more real, more palateable at least, than the reality outside the hut.
Ema had made it almost halfway through the hefty text by the time the last announcement of the day went out, interrupting the quiescence of the late evening to tell of a further three deaths, another three sets of blood on that Liz girl's hands, something about breaking cameras as well as what she'd already done to get the boy from before killed. Goddamn, Ema didn't even remember his name by now. Something Chinese or Japanese? Probably. It didn't seem worth dwelling on. At least she herself was still alive, and none of the other names had been those of people she cared about. Meant the ratio of people that might be friendly to people that almost certainly wouldn't be was tipped ever so slightly further in her scale.
She was ashamed, of course, to find herself thinking of it in terms of strategy. But she wasn't surprised any more, or terribly dissapointed in herself. Ema knew she should care about the recently deceased, but when she thought of them as what they were, as obstacles in the way of her own survival, it didn't seem so unreasonable to be... well, not happy, but not saddened either. Pleased? No, still too strong a positive. More relieved, if anything. Not that relief meant much to her when there was still someone out there risking everyone else's life because she'd made herself untouchable by Danya.
Ema felt as though she should speak up, after all, there had been a reward offered for doing the smug man's dirty work. A reward that would improve her group's chances of survival considerably, if they earned it. But speaking up in favour of going on a manhunt, against someone who was just trying to beat the terrorists' system no less, seemed a little sociopathic at best, rather bloodthirsty at worst. So she settled for shooting thoughtful looks at both Hayley and Kyle, looking to see if she could gauge their thoughts on the matter. Hayley eventually spoke, breaking the silence, but not to bring up the matter of going after Liz.
"So. It's sundown and we're still pretty alone, ne? So, should we stay the night again, or should we get out of here tonight? They could still show, I guess, but I really doubt it at this point, and any sort of shelter will be a high priority at night. Anyone near here is pretty likely to come over, looking for a place to sleep, and I'm really not in the mood for a fight."
Staying or going, good question.
"Couldn't hurt to stay until morning, gives us somewhere safe and comfortable to sleep, wake up and make plans for tomorrow. And if we get danger zone'd, well, we're probably moving on anyway, right?"
Well, at least she had her voice back.
Well, that made sense. And was articulated a lot more clearly than Ema's own response. Though in fairness, she had just been agreeing with Hayley, not actually intending to give a suggestion of her own. Maybe she should've been, but it was too late to by that point. Ema nodded her agreement once again, not even trying to say anything intelligent-sounding this time around.
"...Yeah, I'm with you. No reason to blow this particular stand until...the stand's gonna blow."
And with good reason, the island's eloquence-degenerating powers clearly weren't Ema-specific. Had she tried to make a joke, it probably would've been even worse. Beyond humourless, or in such bad taste even she herself would've found it offensive. Best not to even go there. Not unlike the island itself really, in terms of places not to... "Okay fuck no, that was apalling."
Incredibly dead sense of humour aside, spending the rest of the day hanging around seemed like a rather appealing prospect. Time to rest, contemplate, not have to hike across an island constantly under fear of attack, and maybe do some reading. Hayley had already gotten started with that, one of those Pratchett novels she herself had always intended to get into, but never really gotten around to. That one TV movie of the Hogfather had been good, after all, but actually picking up the original book remained a mission not accomplished. Following suit, Ema fished her - already rather worn-looking - copy of American Gods out of her daypack, spent about a minute figuring out what page she'd left off at, and settled in to read, finding the couch decidedly less comfortable now that she'd comitted to staying on it.
For the next few hours, she fidgeted about every few minutes, making herself marginally more comfortable than before, then returning to her attempt to just read. All the while, she tried more-or-less successfully to keep her head near the open window, rather than actually mention her distaste for the cigarette smoke that had quickly filled the air in the small building. Ema didn't even know why she felt uncomfortable mentioning it, when she actually thought about it, it wasn't as though she was particularly afraid of how Hayley would respond, or as though she was worried about offending the other girl; after all, her stance on smoking had been made pretty clear almost a year ago, to an accepting enough response. Maybe she just didn't want to break the oddly comfortable silence that had descended, or to feel like she was depriving Hayley of one of the few creature comforts available given the situation.
She really didn't know. Maybe with more time to think, she would've settled on an answer, but Danya interrupted her train of thought. No, not Danya, it was his announcement system and his alert noise, but not that voice that had come to be so familiar so quickly. It was familiar, though... one of the mathematics faculty? Kwong or something, that was his name. Hadn't ever taught Ema personally, but they'd spoken once or twice before. Hadn't all of the teachers been killed, though? Apparently not all of them.
The rest of the message didn't mean much to Ema, someone she'd never heard of and probably never met had done something that pissed Danya off, so somebody else she'd never heard of or probably ever met got to be killed over it. With a twinge of guilt, she realised she wasn't upset, only thankful that it hadn't been her or anyone she actually did know. Regardless, she spared a thought for the late Daisuke Nagazawa, whoever he'd been, before returning to her book. Escapism was certainly a comforting pastime, what with the shadow of death omnipresent in the real world. Even the fantastical exploits of literal Gods in Gaiman's world seemed more real, more palateable at least, than the reality outside the hut.
Ema had made it almost halfway through the hefty text by the time the last announcement of the day went out, interrupting the quiescence of the late evening to tell of a further three deaths, another three sets of blood on that Liz girl's hands, something about breaking cameras as well as what she'd already done to get the boy from before killed. Goddamn, Ema didn't even remember his name by now. Something Chinese or Japanese? Probably. It didn't seem worth dwelling on. At least she herself was still alive, and none of the other names had been those of people she cared about. Meant the ratio of people that might be friendly to people that almost certainly wouldn't be was tipped ever so slightly further in her scale.
She was ashamed, of course, to find herself thinking of it in terms of strategy. But she wasn't surprised any more, or terribly dissapointed in herself. Ema knew she should care about the recently deceased, but when she thought of them as what they were, as obstacles in the way of her own survival, it didn't seem so unreasonable to be... well, not happy, but not saddened either. Pleased? No, still too strong a positive. More relieved, if anything. Not that relief meant much to her when there was still someone out there risking everyone else's life because she'd made herself untouchable by Danya.
Ema felt as though she should speak up, after all, there had been a reward offered for doing the smug man's dirty work. A reward that would improve her group's chances of survival considerably, if they earned it. But speaking up in favour of going on a manhunt, against someone who was just trying to beat the terrorists' system no less, seemed a little sociopathic at best, rather bloodthirsty at worst. So she settled for shooting thoughtful looks at both Hayley and Kyle, looking to see if she could gauge their thoughts on the matter. Hayley eventually spoke, breaking the silence, but not to bring up the matter of going after Liz.
"So. It's sundown and we're still pretty alone, ne? So, should we stay the night again, or should we get out of here tonight? They could still show, I guess, but I really doubt it at this point, and any sort of shelter will be a high priority at night. Anyone near here is pretty likely to come over, looking for a place to sleep, and I'm really not in the mood for a fight."
Staying or going, good question.
"Couldn't hurt to stay until morning, gives us somewhere safe and comfortable to sleep, wake up and make plans for tomorrow. And if we get danger zone'd, well, we're probably moving on anyway, right?"
Well, at least she had her voice back.
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armeggedonCounselor†
- Posts: 190
- Joined: Sat Sep 01, 2018 5:24 am
((And I was just thinking about posting, geeze.))
Kyle turned away slightly as Hayley made an absolutely terrible joke. He crossed the small hut and found an implement of garden massacre, then turned back toward the door and sat near the entrance. For the next several hours, he sharpened the end of the tool. He wasn't sure why, just that it was something to do with his hands. The repeated motions made it easy for him to meditate as he was doing so- to quell his compulsions and quiet his panicking mind. Thus, it was a moment before he realized that there was an announcement.
He listened dispassionately. The math teacher was still alive. How interesting. The ultimatum indicated that this would not be the case for much longer if this... Liz Polanski continued her destructive ways. Of course, the likelihood of the man living much longer either way seemed small. In fact, the most important part of the announcement was learning that there was a way around the collar. He doubted it would work twice. But it gave the foolish a small bit of hope, he supposed.
Hope was a terrible thing.
Kyle settled back, closing his eyes and slipping into a doze. It wasn't terribly comfortable or relaxing, but....
Again the speakers buzzed to life. People were dying, blips on a screen. Kyle didn't panic- if he was chosen, or Hayley... he couldn't do anything about it. Panicking would merely make it impossible to think. As it was, he wasn't chosen, nor Hayley. They were lucky, he supposed.
Finally, Hayley turned to them and asked what the plan was now. Ema advocated staying here.
"I agree. Staying here is better than trying to move in the dark, and saves us from having to utilize our flashlights in order to avoid the dark. Tomorrow, we'll break out the map and look for a place they may have gone instead."
Again his voice was dead, and, strangely, he couldn't bring himself to look up from the ground.
Kyle turned away slightly as Hayley made an absolutely terrible joke. He crossed the small hut and found an implement of garden massacre, then turned back toward the door and sat near the entrance. For the next several hours, he sharpened the end of the tool. He wasn't sure why, just that it was something to do with his hands. The repeated motions made it easy for him to meditate as he was doing so- to quell his compulsions and quiet his panicking mind. Thus, it was a moment before he realized that there was an announcement.
He listened dispassionately. The math teacher was still alive. How interesting. The ultimatum indicated that this would not be the case for much longer if this... Liz Polanski continued her destructive ways. Of course, the likelihood of the man living much longer either way seemed small. In fact, the most important part of the announcement was learning that there was a way around the collar. He doubted it would work twice. But it gave the foolish a small bit of hope, he supposed.
Hope was a terrible thing.
Kyle settled back, closing his eyes and slipping into a doze. It wasn't terribly comfortable or relaxing, but....
Again the speakers buzzed to life. People were dying, blips on a screen. Kyle didn't panic- if he was chosen, or Hayley... he couldn't do anything about it. Panicking would merely make it impossible to think. As it was, he wasn't chosen, nor Hayley. They were lucky, he supposed.
Finally, Hayley turned to them and asked what the plan was now. Ema advocated staying here.
"I agree. Staying here is better than trying to move in the dark, and saves us from having to utilize our flashlights in order to avoid the dark. Tomorrow, we'll break out the map and look for a place they may have gone instead."
Again his voice was dead, and, strangely, he couldn't bring himself to look up from the ground.
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Hollyquin†
- Posts: 332
- Joined: Sat Sep 01, 2018 5:24 am
Well. It seemed that everyone else everyone else implies that there's an actual group involved, Hayley, not just you, your boyfriend, and your ex-girlfriend best friend the other two thought that the pros of having a (relatively) warm and (relatively) safe place to stay the night beat out the cons of...what were the cons again? Hayley had had a perfectly good reason why they'd be best off leaving the hut, like, thirty seconds ago, but now the thought of another good night's sleep overshadowed whatever that reason had been. Fuck it.
"Yeah, I guess. Yeah. We can stay here. Tomorrow morning, though, we're out of here. First thing. Well, after announcements, anyways."
She turned back to her book for a few moments, but she couldn't concentrate. Something else on her mind.
Fuck. I'm really the last person who should be bringing up going on a fuckin' manhunt of all things, but why not? Kyle's nothing if not pragmatic and Ema...she'll understand, right? This is for all of our sakes. As long as Liz Polanski's alive, it doesn't matter what I do to protect them. Doesn't matter what we do to protect ourselves. Any of us could die at any moment, and for what? What could one girl do against the fucking terrorists? No, I don't care how smart this bitch thinks she is, she's not saving anyone. She's just sacrificing people she doesn't know so she can keep going with her so-called plan. We can't let her keep going. I can't.
I made a promise.
Hayley opened her mouth, than shut it again. When she did open it-
"We should probably get some sleep." By this time the sun had sunk completely out of sight. "We'll figure out where we're going in the morning, assuming we aren't danger zone'd. Though we shouldn't be, since, you know, this place already was one. Right? Yeah."
She curled up where she was- she had hardly moved from the spot she'd slept in the night before. She cursed herself mentally.
That's not what I wanted to say. Fuck, why can't I even- Fuck. Why do I have to be so afraid of being alone?
Chicken. Wimp. Pussy.
Shut up.
---
BZZZZZZZZZT.
Well. Hayley was getting almost used to that noise. It was like her alarm clock, except her alarm clock didn't come packaged with dead teenagers.
"Yet again, you've managed to exceed my expectations. Twenty five more of you met their tragic and heart-wrenching ends yesterday, making it the best day yet..."
"Jesus fucking Christ," she muttered to herself. Twenty-five. That was...that was a lot of people. Her homeroom had about that many kids in it. Imagine her entire homeroom, only dead. What the hell. She squeezed her eyes shut and listened patiently for names...
And...
Nothing. None of the names she was desperately afraid to hear were spoken. Everyone she cared about was totally okay or at least not dead and what are the fucking odds? She released a breath she hadn't been aware of holding.
She listened to the danger zones, and, upon confirming that they were in no immediate danger of collar-detonation, stood up, weirdly energetic considering how early it was.
"So. Okay, it's morning. Alex and Maddy aren't dead. So they've obviously been sidetracked by something or another. So we ought to go find them. Right? Yeah." She blinked back and forth between her two companions. "So, uh, let's take a look at the map? Get going, somewhere or other?"
Hayley was still preoccupied. Not least by Danya's line.
There's still a nice, shiny weapon waiting for whoever takes Polanski, kids...
Yeah. Lets get on that.
"Yeah, I guess. Yeah. We can stay here. Tomorrow morning, though, we're out of here. First thing. Well, after announcements, anyways."
She turned back to her book for a few moments, but she couldn't concentrate. Something else on her mind.
Fuck. I'm really the last person who should be bringing up going on a fuckin' manhunt of all things, but why not? Kyle's nothing if not pragmatic and Ema...she'll understand, right? This is for all of our sakes. As long as Liz Polanski's alive, it doesn't matter what I do to protect them. Doesn't matter what we do to protect ourselves. Any of us could die at any moment, and for what? What could one girl do against the fucking terrorists? No, I don't care how smart this bitch thinks she is, she's not saving anyone. She's just sacrificing people she doesn't know so she can keep going with her so-called plan. We can't let her keep going. I can't.
I made a promise.
Hayley opened her mouth, than shut it again. When she did open it-
"We should probably get some sleep." By this time the sun had sunk completely out of sight. "We'll figure out where we're going in the morning, assuming we aren't danger zone'd. Though we shouldn't be, since, you know, this place already was one. Right? Yeah."
She curled up where she was- she had hardly moved from the spot she'd slept in the night before. She cursed herself mentally.
That's not what I wanted to say. Fuck, why can't I even- Fuck. Why do I have to be so afraid of being alone?
Chicken. Wimp. Pussy.
Shut up.
---
BZZZZZZZZZT.
Well. Hayley was getting almost used to that noise. It was like her alarm clock, except her alarm clock didn't come packaged with dead teenagers.
"Yet again, you've managed to exceed my expectations. Twenty five more of you met their tragic and heart-wrenching ends yesterday, making it the best day yet..."
"Jesus fucking Christ," she muttered to herself. Twenty-five. That was...that was a lot of people. Her homeroom had about that many kids in it. Imagine her entire homeroom, only dead. What the hell. She squeezed her eyes shut and listened patiently for names...
And...
Nothing. None of the names she was desperately afraid to hear were spoken. Everyone she cared about was totally okay or at least not dead and what are the fucking odds? She released a breath she hadn't been aware of holding.
She listened to the danger zones, and, upon confirming that they were in no immediate danger of collar-detonation, stood up, weirdly energetic considering how early it was.
"So. Okay, it's morning. Alex and Maddy aren't dead. So they've obviously been sidetracked by something or another. So we ought to go find them. Right? Yeah." She blinked back and forth between her two companions. "So, uh, let's take a look at the map? Get going, somewhere or other?"
Hayley was still preoccupied. Not least by Danya's line.
There's still a nice, shiny weapon waiting for whoever takes Polanski, kids...
Yeah. Lets get on that.
This is an archival account used by staff to port posts belonging to the handler Hollyquin. While this handler hasn't been around in quite a while, should they return and wish to take custody of this account and/or its posts, they are welcome to do so by contacting staff.
Seemed unanimous then, that the trio would stay the night and make plans for the future in the morning. For a moment, Ema almost wanted to laugh at the minor irony in that, students trying to put things off until the very morning before they became urgent. But as survival and homework have very few things in common, she stayed quiet. A look out of the window confirmed what the dimming light had implied, the sun was slipping below the horizon, making the distant forests to the north look quite beautiful, in spite of their setting. The picturesque view was oddly relaxing, though tiredness probably helped that effect considerably.
"We should probably get some sleep."
Hayley clearly shared the desire, Ema nodded, giving an "Mmhm" of agreement.
"We'll figure out where we're going in the morning, assuming we aren't danger zone'd. Though we shouldn't be, since, you know, this place already was one. Right? Yeah."
Kind of what she'd already said herself, but again, Ema nodded and made that affirmative noise. With nothing further added, she decided then to curl up on the couch, warm enough being indoors and fully clothed that nothing further was neccesary to get comfortable and sleep.
And then she arose, not yet aware that she was - for the first time in months - only dreaming. Impossibly quickly, but at a seemingly normal pace in her mind, an agreement was made about keeping watch outside, to be sure nobody attacked them in their sleep. Ema first, then Hayley, then Kyle. The few hours alone passed imperceptibly, fast-forwarding to the main point of interest. Hayley emerging to take over from her. Most of the conversation didn't quite exist, consisting more of understanding passed from projection to dreamer, with no real words spoken. But Ema didn't go back inside just yet. She waited to speak, in private. This time, words did exist, ones that stayed imprinted on Ema's thoughts for some time; "I wanted to apologise, and forgive you..." it began, trailing off into more wordless expanse, before "...I wasn't thinking straight, you are my best friend, and I know you never meant to..." more lexiconographic void, filled with the vague jumble of feelings Ema associated with the third day's events, and Hayley's omissions.
In an ordinary person's dream, or even just a person with confidence, the actual silence that followed her monologue would've been followed by the soppy part where a tight, friendly hug is shared. Or perhaps better yet, an awkward kiss, for at least inside one's head, that sort of thing is possible. But not for Ema. She turned to go back inside, only to jerk awake at the touch of her fingers to the door handle. In reality, it seems, her right hand had indeed become outstretched, but downwards, not forwards. She pulled it free from the front of her jeans once again, groaning irritably "Pfft, not even in my dreams..."
At the very least, she took something from the dream. She realised that she genuinely did forgive Hayley.
---
"Yet again, you've managed to exceed my expectations. Twenty five more of you met their tragic and heart-wrenching ends yesterday, making it the best day yet..."
Again, Ema jerked awake. After that unusually vivid dream, the rest of the night had gone without incident, just deep, dreamless sleep. As such, in spite of the early hour, she was actually rather alert, enough to have been awoken by the familiar buzz and to be focused enough to listen to what Danya had to say right away.
Holy shit. 25. "Best day yet" indeed, from a psycho's point of view. Even with the reduced numbers, which Ema estimated to be below the 200 mark by now, people had apparently managed to rack up another record total kill count.
"...Ah well, something for the fans to fight out online, I suppose."
The creepy edge that gave to SOTF's fandom, one Ema hadn't really thought of before, aside, Ema was pretty certain indirect deaths still counted as deaths on that day. Unsurprisingly, each and every name went by without being one she knew, save for the victims of Liz Polanski, who Ema only recognised for their being announced the evening before. Alex Rasputin rang more of a bell than the rest, but the redhead soon worked out that he'd probably been mentioned as a killer beforehand.
"There's still a nice, shiny weapon waiting for whoever takes Polanski, kids."
"A nice, shiny weapon that you could probably put to better use than that heavy sword, too." was the near-instant internal response. Ema had a hard time refuting it. "Hayley and Kyle probably want it too. And she's responsible for those four kids dieing, it wouldn't be so bad to off the threat and gain some peace of mind for your trouble, would it?" she continued, again to a mental audience that found denying the truth of the assertion difficult. Luckily for Ema's conscience, the thought was interrupted before it became any more homicidally inclined.
"So. Okay, it's morning. Alex and Maddy aren't dead. So they've obviously been sidetracked by something or another. So we ought to go find them. Right? Yeah. So, uh, let's take a look at the map? Get going, somewhere or other?"
Silencing the thought that instantly suggested Liz Polanski, Ema replied "Yeah, might as well. We're not going to accomplish anything just sitting around all day." Of course, that implied she had anything in mind to accomplish in the first place, besides trying to regroup with Alex and co. "I mean think about it, eventually killing isn't going to be a choice anyway, just a matter of life or death. Why not get yourself as ready for that point as you can?" "...Because I don't want it to be a choice?" "Was that a question or an answer, hmm?"
Ema didn't know. She didn't want to kill people. She didn't want to die. Which did she want less? The latter.
"So, err... where to? Skirt around the Fun Fair, see if they went west by mistake?"
"We should probably get some sleep."
Hayley clearly shared the desire, Ema nodded, giving an "Mmhm" of agreement.
"We'll figure out where we're going in the morning, assuming we aren't danger zone'd. Though we shouldn't be, since, you know, this place already was one. Right? Yeah."
Kind of what she'd already said herself, but again, Ema nodded and made that affirmative noise. With nothing further added, she decided then to curl up on the couch, warm enough being indoors and fully clothed that nothing further was neccesary to get comfortable and sleep.
And then she arose, not yet aware that she was - for the first time in months - only dreaming. Impossibly quickly, but at a seemingly normal pace in her mind, an agreement was made about keeping watch outside, to be sure nobody attacked them in their sleep. Ema first, then Hayley, then Kyle. The few hours alone passed imperceptibly, fast-forwarding to the main point of interest. Hayley emerging to take over from her. Most of the conversation didn't quite exist, consisting more of understanding passed from projection to dreamer, with no real words spoken. But Ema didn't go back inside just yet. She waited to speak, in private. This time, words did exist, ones that stayed imprinted on Ema's thoughts for some time; "I wanted to apologise, and forgive you..." it began, trailing off into more wordless expanse, before "...I wasn't thinking straight, you are my best friend, and I know you never meant to..." more lexiconographic void, filled with the vague jumble of feelings Ema associated with the third day's events, and Hayley's omissions.
In an ordinary person's dream, or even just a person with confidence, the actual silence that followed her monologue would've been followed by the soppy part where a tight, friendly hug is shared. Or perhaps better yet, an awkward kiss, for at least inside one's head, that sort of thing is possible. But not for Ema. She turned to go back inside, only to jerk awake at the touch of her fingers to the door handle. In reality, it seems, her right hand had indeed become outstretched, but downwards, not forwards. She pulled it free from the front of her jeans once again, groaning irritably "Pfft, not even in my dreams..."
At the very least, she took something from the dream. She realised that she genuinely did forgive Hayley.
---
"Yet again, you've managed to exceed my expectations. Twenty five more of you met their tragic and heart-wrenching ends yesterday, making it the best day yet..."
Again, Ema jerked awake. After that unusually vivid dream, the rest of the night had gone without incident, just deep, dreamless sleep. As such, in spite of the early hour, she was actually rather alert, enough to have been awoken by the familiar buzz and to be focused enough to listen to what Danya had to say right away.
Holy shit. 25. "Best day yet" indeed, from a psycho's point of view. Even with the reduced numbers, which Ema estimated to be below the 200 mark by now, people had apparently managed to rack up another record total kill count.
"...Ah well, something for the fans to fight out online, I suppose."
The creepy edge that gave to SOTF's fandom, one Ema hadn't really thought of before, aside, Ema was pretty certain indirect deaths still counted as deaths on that day. Unsurprisingly, each and every name went by without being one she knew, save for the victims of Liz Polanski, who Ema only recognised for their being announced the evening before. Alex Rasputin rang more of a bell than the rest, but the redhead soon worked out that he'd probably been mentioned as a killer beforehand.
"There's still a nice, shiny weapon waiting for whoever takes Polanski, kids."
"A nice, shiny weapon that you could probably put to better use than that heavy sword, too." was the near-instant internal response. Ema had a hard time refuting it. "Hayley and Kyle probably want it too. And she's responsible for those four kids dieing, it wouldn't be so bad to off the threat and gain some peace of mind for your trouble, would it?" she continued, again to a mental audience that found denying the truth of the assertion difficult. Luckily for Ema's conscience, the thought was interrupted before it became any more homicidally inclined.
"So. Okay, it's morning. Alex and Maddy aren't dead. So they've obviously been sidetracked by something or another. So we ought to go find them. Right? Yeah. So, uh, let's take a look at the map? Get going, somewhere or other?"
Silencing the thought that instantly suggested Liz Polanski, Ema replied "Yeah, might as well. We're not going to accomplish anything just sitting around all day." Of course, that implied she had anything in mind to accomplish in the first place, besides trying to regroup with Alex and co. "I mean think about it, eventually killing isn't going to be a choice anyway, just a matter of life or death. Why not get yourself as ready for that point as you can?" "...Because I don't want it to be a choice?" "Was that a question or an answer, hmm?"
Ema didn't know. She didn't want to kill people. She didn't want to die. Which did she want less? The latter.
"So, err... where to? Skirt around the Fun Fair, see if they went west by mistake?"
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armeggedonCounselor†
- Posts: 190
- Joined: Sat Sep 01, 2018 5:24 am
Kyle attempted to doze off again when Hayley and Ema had found their rest, but couldn't stay asleep. He woke up at least four times that night, and his dreams were very similar to his waking moments, which culminated in a mental and physical exhaustion upon the next morning. Regular as a Swiss-made clock, Danya's voice rang through the speakers, announcing the bloodshed of the previous day. Kyle half-listened. He was having trouble bringing himself to care about people he hardly knew, even if they were his classmates. The important bit was the reminder of Liz Polanski's bounty.
'I could use a new weapon....'
Somehow, Kyle felt that his companions were thinking the exact same thing. He half-listened to the suggestions of the others, pulling his map out of his day pack. It was disordered in there, and had he been a man of weaker will, he'd have dumped everything and begun sorting and organizing it. As it was, he suppressed a shudder and a slight retching as he tore his mind away from the mess.
"I think it would be best to go someplace between here and the Fun Fair, as they most likely went the right direction, but got sidetracked or otherwise stopped between here and there. We obviously can't search the Fun Fair itself, but there is a Gazebo attached but separate near the Fair, which might be a likely place to spend the night, and a couple square miles of forest between the Fair and here. The forest is the most likely place for them to get lost or turned around, so it may be the best place to search."
The map spread on the floor in front of him, Kyle pored over it with an expression of studious indifference.
'I could use a new weapon....'
Somehow, Kyle felt that his companions were thinking the exact same thing. He half-listened to the suggestions of the others, pulling his map out of his day pack. It was disordered in there, and had he been a man of weaker will, he'd have dumped everything and begun sorting and organizing it. As it was, he suppressed a shudder and a slight retching as he tore his mind away from the mess.
"I think it would be best to go someplace between here and the Fun Fair, as they most likely went the right direction, but got sidetracked or otherwise stopped between here and there. We obviously can't search the Fun Fair itself, but there is a Gazebo attached but separate near the Fair, which might be a likely place to spend the night, and a couple square miles of forest between the Fair and here. The forest is the most likely place for them to get lost or turned around, so it may be the best place to search."
The map spread on the floor in front of him, Kyle pored over it with an expression of studious indifference.
This is an archival account used by staff to port posts belonging to the handler armeggedonCounselor. While this handler hasn't been around in quite a while, should they return and wish to take custody of this account and/or its posts, they are welcome to do so by contacting staff.